What Is International Beer Day?
Beer has brought people together for centuries, so it’s only fitting that it has its own international holiday. International Beer Day celebrates good beer, great bars and the friendships made over a pint.
International Beer Day – not to be confused with National Beer Day in the USA – is a real event, not one of the endless (and often mindless) so-called hashtag holidays that PR people love to promote and sometimes drive us blogger crazy with press releases.
Created back in 2008 and celebrated on the first Friday in August, International Beer Day “is a global celebration of beer, taking place in pubs, breweries, and backyards all over the world,” according to its official website. Yes, International Beer Day has an official website.
The date was chosen, according to organizers, “for its summer weather and distance from other beer celebrations.”
Now that the formalities are out of the way, let’s talk beer. Specifically international beer. Starting with the history of beer.
The History Of Beer
Beer’s orgin dates back to more than 5,000 years (and you complain when your beer gets a flat head on occasion!). China, Egypt Europe and Mesopotamia all had beer, which was thick and dark. In Mesopotamia, many of the brewers were women. So beer did not start out as a man’s drink.
It grew in popularity in Europe in the Middle Ages and was consumed almost daily. In 1516 the Duke of Bavaria in Germany adopted the purity law (the Reinheitsgebot), which is still practiced today. It stipulates that beer ingredients must be water, barley malt and hops. The monks drank it, stating it was safer than water. It probably was at the time. That’s the same reason the British Navy provided daily rations of rum to its sailors.
How To Celebrate International Beer Day
- Visit your favorite bar
- Try a new beer or a different style than you usually drink
- Try and international beer. Duh, right!?
The Best Thing About Beer Is…
It gets you buzzed! Well that yeah, but it’s a great beverage to get a fun vibe in a bar, at an event and with friends. When things are flowing right then beer makes friends of strangers, you just want to raise it above your head and say “cheers.” Or, if you’re at Munich Oktoberfest, “Ein Prost!”
Now Hop On The Party Bus For More Beer!
• Why Munich Oktoberfest Is Beer Drinker’s Heaven
The Nightlife Blogger is the bar columnist for PubClub.com, an award-winning journalist and beer expert who has covered destinations, events and nightlife for more than two decades. While working as a newspaper reporter, he received an Associated Press award for investigative journalism.